Scientists discover new link to El Niño

Variations in Arctic stratospheric ozone can affect the tropospheric climate at middle-to-high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere and all the way down to the tropics, according to researchers in China.

The result suggests a key stepping stone in the known connection between Arctic stratospheric ozone and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and so could help to predict the ENSO, the researchers say.

“Oceanic, tropospheric, and stratospheric [variations] are all tightly coupled,” said Jianping Li of Beijing Normal University. “[Our study] reinforces the need for climate models to include fully coupled stratospheric dynamical-radiative-chemical processes if they are to more accurately simulate and predict future climate variations.” […]

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